The present invention relates to a process for the production of a fiber containing cereal product of improved texture and appearance.
Ready to eat cereal products containing an added fiber source are well known as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,026,689 and 4,834,989. The introduction of certain types of dietary fiber products, such as soy fiber, into cereal products sometimes will result in a processing problem, in that if the fiber product is added during cooking the fiber product competes with the moisture used for cooking of the cereal grains, thereby forming "balls" or aggregates of fiber which are visually apparent in the cereal product after the forming process. This is a particular problem in the production of flaked cereals, in which such lumps or aggregates of fiber are readily apparent.
While this problem is not limited exclusively to soy fiber products and their addition to flaked ready to eat cereal products, soy fiber products are highly water absorbent and their addition during cooking of the grains often results in the above described processing problem. As noted above, ready to eat cereal products are typically formed into some type of coherent shape such as a flake, following cooking of the grains. A forming step, such as flaking, is performed by pelletizing of the cooked and moistened cereal grains and then passing the pellets through adjacent pressurized rolls in order to produce flakes of the product. An unexpected solution to the above processing problem was achieved in the present invention by adding the fiber product in dried and unhydrated form during the pelletizing and prior to the forming step. Addition of the fiber at this point in the process provides a dramatic improvement in the visual appearance of the fiber containing formed product. Not only are the texture and appearance of the ready to eat cereal product improved but the color is much lighter and more desirable than when the fiber is added during cooking and prior to pelletizing.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved process for the production of a fiber containing cereal product of improved texture and appearance.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide a process for the production of a fiber containing flaked cereal product of improved texture and appearance.
These and other objects of the present invention will be readily apparent from the following specific description of the invention.